


Reunion at Last

by Merfilly



Series: Rise Up, Rebels [16]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-06-02 13:29:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6568186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anakin meets his children</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reunion at Last

In the end, Padmé decided to go get the kids and Ahsoka, to bring them home to the _Stubborn Hope_ rather than inflict Anakin with having to be polite to the kin-by-marriage he barely knew. Obi-Wan remained in the ship with Anakin, keeping him company against the bad memories of being on Tatooine.

Ahsoka had thrown her arms around Padmé, holding on tight just to see her there, and the twins had swarmed her legs. Together, the four had gone back to the ship, with Luke feeling so special to have all of the ladies to himself for the walk. 

Their birthday was fast approaching, and this time, they would all be a family for it. She waited until they were out of eyesight of the homestead, the ship looming on the horizon now, to talk.

"He's with us," she told Ahsoka, unsurprised when the girl — no, not girl; young woman — broke step for half a moment, before matching pace again. "We were gone so long not because of the battle itself, but in order to get him healed and into a suit that better worked for his new life."

"What about… everything?"

Padmé lifted her chin. "Exile, though he is to help us get to the Emperor, somehow. After that, no trial, just exile."

"Assuming he lives through that," Ahsoka said, trying to decide how she felt about that.

"As far as the galaxy knows, he's already dead, just like Anakin Skywalker is presumed to be."

Leia looked up at her mother, eyes narrow. "Our father is here?"

For an instant, Padmé wished she didn't see such suspicion in her daughter's eyes. However, that suspicion would serve as a warning to Anakin. "Yes, Leia. Obi-Wan and I brought your father here, and he's going to help us fight."

"He better do a good job then!" Leia said, full of fierce love for her mother. Luke silently reinforced it, even as he couldn't wait to see the man who was their father.

+++++

Ahsoka took the pilot's position, making Obi-Wan settle into the copilot seat, trying not to glare at her.

"Not staying for the reunion?" she asked.

"It is a family moment," he demurred.

"Yeah, but you better get it through your head, you are still family, even if Anakin's back." She concentrated on the controls, not looking at him.

"I think you need to tell yourself that," the Jedi Master said.

That she did not answer said more than words could have.

+++++

Anakin had watched Ahsoka go past with a piece of his mind. He really couldn't notice her, not details, not when his Angel was standing there with a pair of dark-haired children waiting to meet him. The boy's hair was lighter, closer to where his had been as a teenager. The girl, though, had her mother's hair, and her stubborn look.

He found himself coming down to his knees more freely than he'd ever fallen in front of the Emperor, to be closer to their size. The girl, her fingers knotted in Padmé's tunic half took a step back, while the boy, who had clambered up into his mother's arms, stared with big eyes.

Fear started to grow in Anakin's heart. Would his children only ever see him as a monster? Would he still be cut off from this family that should have been his all along? Anger started to drift in — 

— and Leia let go of her mother to come to him.

"You're going to be good, right?" she asked him in all seriousness. "You can't stay if you're not good. You have to keep all the secrets, and promise to help the Rebellion."

Anakin's heart sang as she addressed him, as he heard those demands. "I'll do anything you want me to, Princess," he promised her, and knew he meant it. "May I hug you?"

Leia considered, then moved to put her arms around his neck. "Yes, you may."

He was so careful as he closed his arms around her, and let his eyes close at the joy of holding his child close. They were still closed when Luke, having scampered down, insinuated himself into the hug too.


End file.
